UPDATED: Owner and dog found in remote area with porcupine quills in mouth reunited

The New Glasgow Veterinary Clinic is now caring for this black dog. She was discovered with porcupine quills in her mouth near the Liscomb Game Sanctuary. SUBMITTED

UPDATED: The owner of a black dog found near the Liscomb Game Sanctuary has been found.

Craig Mercer said a lady from Caledonia has claimed ownership of the dog. She and her son were looking for the dog for about three weeks and were happy to hear that it was alive and well.

They were reunited at the New Glasgow Vet Clinic today.

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She has no nametag to say who she is, but the black dog brought into the New Glasgow Vet Clinic on Sunday can certainly be called one lucky girl, says veterinarian Kathryn Sykes.

The dog arrived on Sunday at the clinic Sykes works at with porcupine quills in her face and was terribly thin.

“I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a dog this thin,” Sykes said.

Craig Mercer and some friends found the dog Sunday afternoon. They discovered her wandering near the Liscomb Game Sanctuary where the men had just finished up a four-day camping trip.

“They did a pretty good thing bringing her in,” Sykes said. “It’s going to take some time but she should be OK.”

Already they’ve pulled out some of the quills and are working to rehydrate the dog. They’ll have to surgically remove some of the remaining quills, which were deeply embedded. But all things considered, the dog is lucky to be alive. If it wasn’t for the Pictou County men, she might not be.

Mercer said he and his friends had just finished loading boats into the truck at the end of their fishing trip and were ready to head home when they saw a black animal in the middle of the road. At first they weren’t sure what the creature was so they pulled out some binoculars for a closer look and realized it was a dog.

“We tried to call her over, but she was pretty scared,” Mercer said.

They tossed the dog some leftover hotdogs in an attempt to get it close enough, but it ran up the road when they attempted to catch her.

Mercer just couldn’t let her go, so he decided to go back and try once more to catch the dog. He discovered her again lying in a ditch. With a big coat on and gloves to protect himself in case she decided to bite, he lured her in close with food and grabbed her. He tied a rope onto the dog, who although scared seemed relieved to have found someone to care for her.

Exhausted, the dog slept on a pile of Mercer’s things on the way back. Meanwhile Mercer called ahead to his wife and they let the vet know that they would be bringing the dog in.

As soon as Mercer caught the dog and told his friends he was with it, they all pulled out their wallets and began passing over cash to help contribute to what they anticipated would be costly vet bills. Since then others have stepped forward to indicate they would help, he said.

Mercer is hoping that they’ll be able to find out where the dog came from. Because of where the dog was, he figures someone who was visiting the sanctuary lost her or she was abandoned.

He said his family is trying not to allow themselves to get too attached to the dog until they’re sure she doesn’t belong to someone else.

“We’re godparents,” he said. “We’re paying the bills and making sure she has a fighting chance.”

However, if no one comes forward, he said he’s happy to take the dog into his own home.

“We’ve already got two dogs and if all else fails she’ll be welcome in our family,” he said.

amacinnis@ngnews.ca

On Twitter: NGNewsAdam

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